ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police said on Monday they had arrested the chairman and two other members of former prime minister Imran Khan’s party on charges of violating a new law to regulate public gatherings in the Pakistani capital.
The development came a day after Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party held a rally in Islamabad to press authorities for the release of the former prime minister, who has been in jail since last August.
The government last week passed the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024 to streamline the process for obtaining permission to hold public gatherings in Islamabad and designating specific areas for such activity.
The Islamabad administration had allowed the PTI to hold the rally in Islamabad from 4pm till 7pm on Sunday, but later said in a letter to PTI Islamabad President Amir Masood Mughal that the condition had not been adhered to by the party.
“Three PTI leaders, Barrister Gohar Khan, Shoaib Shaheen and Sher Afzal Marwat were arrested today,” Islamabad police spokesperson Taqi Jawad told Arab News.
“They were arrested due to violation of new law, the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, in PTI gathering on September 8.”
The new law proposes three-year jail terms for participants of “illegal” assemblies, with ten-year imprisonment for repeat offenders.
Footage shared by the PTI on X showed its chairman Gohar Khan being taken away by the Islamabad police.
“The chairman of Pakistan’s largest political party with the biggest voter base, Barrister Gohar, has been arrested at the gates of Parliament along with other PTI leaders and Members of the National Assembly,” the PTI said on X.
“This shows how opposition is being suppressed using brute force.”
Khan’s PTI says it has faced a months-long crackdown since protesters linked to the party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a land graft case.
Hundreds of PTI followers and leaders were arrested following the riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
“The government and the establishment have been in depression since yesterday’s rally and the leaders of Tehreek-e-Insaaf are being arrested right now,” Shahbaz Gill, a PTI member and Khan ally, said on X.
“Will all this help stop this movement? Get some sense. This is Imran Khan’s time.”
Khan, who has been in jail since August last year, faces a slew of charges and was convicted in four cases since he was first taken into custody, all of which have been either suspended or overturned by the courts. He remains in jail, however, on new charges brought by Pakistan’s national accountability watchdog regarding the illegal sale of gifts from a state repository while he was prime minister from 2018 till 2022.
The ex-premier has waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s powerful military and blamed the then army leadership of orchestrating his ouster in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022. The army says it does not interfere in political affairs.
Imran Khan party leaders arrested as crackdown begins over violations of Pakistani law on rallies
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Imran Khan party leaders arrested as crackdown begins over violations of Pakistani law on rallies
- Gohar Khan, Shoaib Shaheen and Sher Afzal Marwat arrested a day after Khan’s PTI party held a rally in Islamabad to press for his release
- The Islamabad administration on Sunday informed officials of Khan’s party they had failed to conclude their rally by appointed time
Pakistan offers Kyrgyzstan Arabian Sea access as two states sign 15 cooperation accords
- Pakistan and Kyrgyzstan sign MOUs spanning trade, energy, agriculture, ports, education, security cooperation
- Kyrgyz president is on first visit to Pakistan in 20 years as both sides push connectivity and CASA-1000 power links
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday offered Kyrgyzstan the shortest and most economical route to the Arabian Sea as the two countries signed 15 agreements and memoranda of understanding aimed at boosting cooperation across trade, energy, agriculture, education, customs data-sharing and port logistics.
The accords were signed during a visit to Islamabad by President Sadyr Zhaparov, the first by a Kyrgyz head of state to Pakistan in two decades, and part of Islamabad’s renewed push to link South Asia with landlocked Central Asian economies through ports, power corridors and transport routes.
For Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan offers access to hydropower through CASA-1000, a $1.2 billion regional electricity transmission project designed to carry surplus summer electricity from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan. For Bishkek, Pakistan provides overland access to warm-water ports on the Arabian Sea, creating a shorter commercial route to global markets.
“President Asif Ali Zardari has reiterated Pakistan’s readiness to offer Kyrgyzstan the shortest and most economical route to the Arabian Sea,” Radio Pakistan reported after Zhaparov met the Pakistani president.
The two leaders also discussed expanding direct flights to deepen business, tourism and people-to-people ties.
Zardari welcomed Kyrgyzstan’s completion of its segment of the CASA-1000 project and “reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to completing its part of the project, which is now at an advanced stage,” the state broadcaster said.
Zhaparov thanked Islamabad for supporting Bishkek’s candidacy for a non-permanent UN Security Council seat and invited Zardari to visit Kyrgyzstan at a time of his convenience. Both sides expressed satisfaction with progress under the Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement, designed to facilitate road movement between Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and China.
Earlier, both governments exchanged 15 sectoral cooperation documents covering commerce, mining, geosciences, power, agriculture, youth programs, the exchange of convicted persons, customs electronic data systems and a sister-city linkage between Islamabad and Bishkek.
According to APP, the MOUs were signed by ministers representing foreign affairs, commerce, economy, energy, power, railways, interior, culture, health and tourism. Agreements also covered cooperation between Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy and the Diplomatic Academy of Kyrgyzstan, as well as collaboration between universities, youth ministries and cultural institutions.
“Our present mutual trade, comprising of about $15–16 million will be enhanced to $200 million in the next two years,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said after the agreements were signed, calling them “a framework for structured, result-oriented engagement and closer institutional linkages.”
Sharif said Pakistan was ready to serve as a maritime outlet for the landlocked Central Asian republic, offering access to Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar to help Kyrgyz goods reach regional and global markets.
